


nothing sweeter

by garnetted



Series: weak [3]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-05-03 14:45:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5295287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garnetted/pseuds/garnetted
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby blinked and hoped Sapphire hadn’t noticed her staring.  (She had.  She didn’t mind.)</p>
<p>human dance au!</p>
            </blockquote>





	nothing sweeter

**Author's Note:**

> the first song they improv to is "no lie" by wet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjIJVSt6kAw  
> the second song is "work song" by hozier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH7bjV0Q_44

Ruby entered the studio wrapped in her warmest flannel and threw her bag on the ground next to the wall. She was nearly knocked over as her cousin, Garnet, dashed out the door. “Be right back,” Garnet said. 

Ruby didn’t really have a chance to reply, so she just shrugged. Garnet was the teacher of the class that Ruby assisted for — an intermediate jazz class for ages 13 and up. Ruby loved assisting for Garnet. Garnet had been the one to introduce her to Beach City Dance Academy in the first place. She had danced at the studio all through high school, and returned after college to become a teacher and choreographer. 

Recovering from Garnet’s aggressive exit of the room (she probably just had to use the bathroom, anyway), Ruby began greeting the dancers in the class as they walked in. She kicked off her sneakers and pulled out her phone, and when she unlocked it, it opened to the front-facing camera on Snapchat. She saw the image and nearly had a heart attack — she wasn’t the only one in the frame.

“Hey,” Sapphire said, her head peeking out from behind Ruby’s shoulder.

“ _Holy shit!_ ” Ruby whisper-yelled, flinching and backing up a step. Sapphire giggled. “Saph, oh my _god,_ you scared me so bad.”

“Sorry,” Sapphire laughed, not sounding very apologetic at all. Ruby wanted to make an exaggerated angry expression, but Sapphire’s laugh caused a smile to grow on her lips.

“I’ll get you back. What are you doing here?” Ruby asked. Her tone made her sound more excited than curious, which wasn’t completely inaccurate.

“Make-up class,” Sapphire answered, setting her bag down next to Ruby’s. “Since I was out all of last week.”

Ruby remembered — Sapphire had been sick and missed all of last week’s classes. Ruby had received plenty of Snapchats of Sapphire’s tired face and various Netflix shows. “Well, I’m glad you’re back. This is a fun class.”

Sapphire smiled, and then Garnet re-entered the room. Garnet announced to the class, “Alright, guys, spread out and let’s get started.” The regular dancers in the class spread out, Ruby headed to the front of the room where the assistants always stood, and Sapphire stood towards the front of the group, but at the side of the room. Garnet turned on the music — a song with a strong bass and interesting synth rhythm — and noticed Sapphire’s presence. “Hey, Sapphire,” Garnet said. “Make-up class?”

Sapphire nodded, and Garnet gave a thumbs-up. 

Ruby lead the class through warm-up while Garnet walked around and corrected the dancers’ placement and technique. Every so often, Ruby would catch Sapphire’s eye and make a silly face or exaggerated wink. Sapphire would smile and Ruby would wonder how she managed to look _so pretty_ wearing a sweatshirt and a messy bun. Ruby was mesmerized by the way her bangs framed her face, how her full lips seemed so calm but her eyes held a hint of a smile, her dark skin, her collarbone —

“Lunge to the right side!” Garnet called over the music. “Stretch through those back legs.” 

Ruby blinked and hoped Sapphire hadn’t noticed her staring. (She had. She didn’t mind.)

Once the class completed warm-up, and Garnet paused the music to call out, “Take a minute to get water and then we’ll go across the floor.”

The dancers scattered to the edges of the room to remove layers of warm clothing and grab a drink of water. Ruby went to her bag, tugged her flannel off, and tied it around her waist. Sapphire pulled off her baggy sweatshirt and Ruby had to bite her lips. Sapphire was’t wearing a tank top or a t-shirt, but a pale blue sports bra with a strappy back. She wasn’t the only one wearing only a sports bra, and it wasn’t the first time Ruby had seen her wearing one, but Ruby felt like she was going to explode regardless. 

_Is she doing this to me on purpose?_ She _had_ to be doing this on purpose.

This time, Sapphire definitely noticed her staring. Ruby blurted out, “I like your top.”

“Thanks,” Sapphire said. “It’s new.”

Ruby smiled and silently thanked god that that wasn’t as awkward as it could have been. She backed up, motioning for the dancers to form lines on the side of the room for across the floor. “Three lines, guys,” she called out as she headed to the front of the studio.

After a few basic technique combinations (and fifteen minutes of Ruby trying to pay attention to dancers other than Sapphire), Garnet announced, “We’re going to move into something different now. I really want to focus on improv and performance today. For now, just dance however you like, but make sure you add emotion and, of course, match the music. Got it?” The dancers nodded — most of them were excited to have a day focused only on improv. 

Garnet turned on a song, quite a change of pace from the upbeat songs that she had played during warm-up. The singer’s voice was long and beautiful and sad; there were beats in the background in a simple yet intriguing rhythm. “Ruby, Sapphire, you two go first,” Garnet instructed. “Next lines, wait until they get halfway across, then you start.”

Sapphire moved forward from the back of the line, taking her place next to Ruby. They smiled at each other and began their improvisation. 

Ruby, of course, emphasized the background beats and musicality in her dancing. Her moves were short, sharp, and intricate, completely in time with the music. 

She tried her best to watch Sapphire out of the corner of her eye as she danced. Sapphire was her polar opposite — her long, flexible legs did battements that seemed to go on forever. Instead of utilizing the accents in the song like Ruby did, Sapphire’s body moved in time with the singer’s flowing voice. 

Garnet had the class freestyle across the floor to a few more songs, all varying degrees of intensity, speed, and emotion. Each time, Ruby made a point of it to travel quickly so that she could watch Sapphire finish up her improv. She tried her best to be nonchalant. (Sapphire noticed.)

Soon, Garnet continued with another instruction. “Nice, you guys. You’ve really improved. Now, come out to the center and pair up.”

Ruby turned to Sapphire, and her stomach fluttered a bit when she saw that Sapphire was already looking at her. “Partners.” They high-fived and headed to the front of the class.

“So, you guys are going to partner improv,” Garnet explained, and Ruby’s hands began to shake with excitement. She knew from their duo that partnering with Sapphire was the best feeling in the world. “It’s okay if it gets awkward, it happens. But stay in character and try to find new ways to dance together. Make it more than just movement. Make it an experience.”

Garnet divided the class into four small groups, but excluded Ruby and Sapphire. “You two go first,” Garnet said, winking at Ruby. And then, directed to the rest of the class: “They’ve been doing this for a while, so here’s your chance to watch and be inspired.”

The other dancers nodded and sat in the front of the studio on the floor against the mirror, some chattering in excitement. “Let’s do this,” Ruby mumbled to Sapphire; they backed up to the center of the room.

The music started — a song that almost every dancer in the room was familiar with. The soft hums and strong accents pulsed through the speakers, and Ruby shot an urgent glance to Garnet. Her cousin’s heterochromic eyes sparkled. 

“Whenever you’re ready,” Garnet called over the music.

Ruby turned back around and did an exaggerated contemporary reach with her arm, making a goofy, overly-sad facial expression. Some of the dancers laughed, including Sapphire, which helped melt away some of Ruby’s nerves. 

Sapphire giggled. “Ruby, be serious,” she whispered, though her eyes seemed to sparkle.

Ruby smiled apologetically. The lyrics in the song began and the pair started dancing, eyes locked. All eyes were on them. To Ruby, everything else seemed to evaporate, while Sapphire came into sharp focus.

They danced for a few seconds, not touching quite yet. Sapphire was the first to make contact; she touched Ruby’s upper arm and lifted one leg behind her in an arabesque. Ruby quickly let her instincts take over, holding Sapphire’s shoulder to stabilize her and bending her legs into a wide lunge. Sapphire collapsed her arabesque and twisted around, arching her back over Ruby’s shoulder, and Ruby found her hands brushing over Sapphire’s bare waist. Her fingers curled, and she let out a shaky breath, supporting Sapphire’s lower back despite her nerves as Sapphire twisted back to face her. Their dance continued, and Ruby could only hope that the movements she was doing were decent — she couldn’t seem to focus on anything other than Sapphire and their close proximity. 

_‘My baby’s sweet as can be, she gave me toothaches just from kissing me.’_

The next thing Ruby knew, the music had faded out, and she had to blink a few times to bring the rest of the studio back into reality. “Nice job,” Garnet said, smiling more than she normally did. “Group one, you’re up.”

They sat down and Ruby heard one of the dancers about to go whisper to her friend, “How are we supposed to follow that?!” Her partner nodded with wide eyes. 

Ruby had to laugh. “That was good,” she said to Sapphire, still feeling overwhelmed in the best possible way. Sapphire nodded, her expression proud and happy and a little bit dazed.

Sapphire grabbed Ruby’s hand and squeezed it. Ruby looked at her, embarrassed but kind of thrilled. Garnet turned on another song, and Sapphire whispered, “We make a good team.”


End file.
